


Mechanics

by crystalfox



Series: Timeslips [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 11:18:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13098993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalfox/pseuds/crystalfox
Summary: Part of 'Timeslips' - Strange happenings across the galaxy, through time and not just space. People are falling into little timeslips, allowing them to travel backwards, forwards, up, down, and sideways through time without realising it.Please see series page for more info/notes.





	Mechanics

**Author's Note:**

> Part of 'Timeslips' - Strange happenings across the galaxy, through time and not just space. People are falling into little timeslips, allowing them to travel backwards, forwards, up, down, and sideways through time without realising it. 
> 
> Please see series page for more info/notes.

Rose felt uncomfortable in the blistering heat of the two suns, she couldn't wait to be somewhere cooler. Unzipping her jumpsuit slightly at the neck, she fanned her face with her hand as she looked around the busy marketplace. This was a miserable place, dirty and rough but the Resistance had been forced to land briefly to collect vital supplies. Her task was to find a small array of ship parts without attracting any unwanted attention. She put her hand in her pocket and squeezed the money to assure herself it was still safely there. As she did so, Rose noticed some battered engines dumped haphazardly around the entrance to a shop. _Perfect_ , she thought as she hurried towards it.

The interior of the shop was pleasantly cool and Rose allowed her eyes to adjust in the dimness. It was a treasure trove of parts and mechanical items. If she hadn't been in a hurry and on an important mission, she would have been happy to browse to see if she could discover something interesting.

"Can I help?" A young voice asked, startling her out of her thoughts. She turned towards the large, roughly carved worktop which a small boy was sitting behind. _He's a slave_ , Rose thought at once sadly. Unfortunately, it was easy to tell - working at a young age, the tired look in his eyes - and it made her angry at this horrible place. She may not have been a slave but Rose could empathise with growing up in an unfair world.

He was staring at her, patiently waiting for her response and Rose smiled at him brightly. "Yes! I need several parts for various ships." She rattled off her list and then paused, thinking she had spoken too quickly but the boy hopped off his stool gracefully and replied, "Yeah, we have all of those."

"Really? Great!" Rose was pleased she could get everything at once. She watched him dart around the shop, collecting what she needed and placing it carefully on the worktop.

"Are you a pilot?" He gave her a sidelong glance as he reached behind an engine for one of the parts.

Rose knew he was just curious, as children are, but she also knew that she needed to be careful. She couldn't allow any rumours to start about the Resistance being here, despite being on a planet in the middle of nowhere she had no doubt there would be people in this seedy place happy to inform the First Order.

"No, I....just..." She thought of what would sound the most boring, "trade things." It wasn't a complete lie, she wasn't a pilot.

"Oh." The disappointment was obvious, he was probably hoping to hear some exciting adventures.

"Do you like this stuff? Mechanics and engineering?" She asked as she picked up a rusted part, turning it gently in her hands.

He perked up at the question, turning to her, his eyes bright, "I love it! Making things, fixing things. Do you like this stuff?" The words tumbled excitedly out of him and Rose couldn't help smiling at his enthusiasm.

"I do, tinkering around with ship parts is my favourite thing."

"Cool!" The boy happily smiled at her and started to pack up the ship parts for her. "I'm building my own droid. It's going to be a protocol droid."

"Wow....that's...that's incredible!" Rose was impressed, it seemed extremely advanced for a boy his age but she didn't get the feeling he was lying or exaggerating. He sounded confident in his abilities. "Well, I wish you best of luck!"

"Thank you. But I don't need luck, I know the droid will work." Rose suppressed a giggle at his certainty but she suddenly felt a pang of sadness for this confident little kid. She hoped this awful place didn't beat him down and destroy his boldness and passion. He deserved better than life as a slave. The galaxy could be such a harsh place sometimes, the unfairness of it all was hard to deal with. If she could, she would have taken him back to the Resistance. But she knew that such a plan was impossible. He was a slave, his absence would be noticed and she was sure an angry owner would be more than happy to notify the First Order. Rose silently wished for a better life for him, an escape, some happiness.

The boy interrupted her thoughts by telling her the price of the parts. He had hopped back up onto the stool behind the worktop and the parts had been wrapped in a neat package. She brought her money out and handed it to him, silently smiling. He counted it and placed it in a battered looking box.

Rose wanted to tell him that she was part of a fight for a fairer, better galaxy, that things might turn out well for him in the future. Instead, she said "Enjoy building the droid."

"I will."

She picked up the package and tucked it under her arm. Turning to leave, she walked towards the door before stopping. "I'm sure this isn't a nice place to live," She said gently, choosing her words carefully, "I hope you get off this planet one day."

He tilted his head slightly, "I hope so too. I want to be a pilot. Fly the galaxy. I have a feeling I will get out of here."

It was strange, but Rose suddenly had a strong belief he was right, that he would leave.

"What's your name?"

"Anakin."

"It was nice to meet you, Anakin. My name's Rose."

"Rose...that's nice." He'd never heard the name before and it sounded beautiful.

They stared at each other for a moment before Rose nodded and turned back towards the door, she called over her shoulder, "Bye Anakin. Take care of yourself."

"You too."

Rose stepped out into the sharp, hot sunlight and hurried back to her ship. Anakin watched her leave. He didn't believe she was a trader, she was clearly hiding something. He didn't like being lied to but he didn't feel like Rose did it maliciously. He wondered if she was protecting something or someone. Anakin busied himself with fixing an engine and allowed himself to daydream, imagining different scenarios for Rose's life.

Later, they both faded from each other's minds - only a pleasant feeling of amiability lingered.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a new writer. Feedback/comments/constructive criticism welcome!


End file.
